Close Reading Analysis and Reflection on Origin Stories; Hieroglyphs of the Cannibal Hymn

Purpose: As we’ve seen through our analysis of various creation myths, the skill of close reading allows us to get closer to the text, allowing for a richer understanding of its possibilities and nuances at the same time as providing textual support for interpretations. A way to attain particularly rich interpretations is to focus on and delve deeply into “trouble spots,” small sections of a text that challenge/confuse/surprise you.



In your first assignment, you will: 1.) practice making interesting observations and reflections about literary texts and 2.) turn those observations into arguments or interpretations that will interest and engage an educated reader.



Writing Task: Generate a sustained close reading of one or two related “trouble spots” in a text of your choosing from the course readings for Weeks 1 and 2. You will develop roughly 2 pages (500 words) of close readings. By this, I mean focus your attention on the particularly interesting contradictory or resonant aspects of the “trouble spot(s)” you’ve chosen and explain to your reader what makes the textual material so compelling/strange/confusing. Then, try your hand at writing 1-2, complex, unusual thesis-statement claims about the texts based on your trouble spot(s). Avoid summary—this assignment is about focus.



Your 1-2 thesis-statement claims need not be related to one another. Instead, focus on making interesting claims and not just observations about the text. Observing details about the excerpt is clearly important, but you will need to turn those observations into interpretations that have stakes.



What I mean by “stakes” is that your interpretations should matter to and engage an educated reader. As such, allow yourself to practice taking risks in your interpretations. For your 1-2 claims, I invite you to generate one obvious claim and one very risky claim—feel free to make it kind of “out there.”



Text: You may choose one text from our assigned readings for class. For example, you may choose one of the Leiden Hymns, one section from the Huainanzi or a book from Genesis. If you’ve chosen a slightly longer text (as in, longer than say 20 lines), please narrow your focus to a particular “trouble spot” or a set of related “trouble spots” to analyze together. Feel free to contextualize your “trouble spot” within the broader context of ancient writings to help you articulate why it is so troubling/confusing/compelling.



Please use MLA style to cite your sources.